How the state spent $30 million on Flint water crisis attorneys

Attorneys meet with Genesee District Judge Jennifer J. Manley as a preliminary examination begins in the cases of four defendants, all former or current officials from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, on Monday, Jan. 8, 2018 at Genesee District Court in Flint. Jake May | MLive.com

Eight officials get million-dollar defenses

New state records show the cost of prosecuting and defending state employees implicated in the Flint water crisis has topped $30.7 million, including payments of more than $1 million dollars to attorneys for eight separate officials.

Documents requested from state government offices by MLive-The Flint Journal detail the spending by the Governor's Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Environmental Quality and the Attorney General's Office.

And the bills aren't stopping anytime soon.

Eight criminal cases remain on court dockets in Genesee County and $2 million appropriated for special prosecutors remains in the bank.

The totals don't include expenses like expert witness fees or payments to attorneys representing current and former city of Flint employees or to former state-appointed emergency managers here.

In total, the spending has topped $8.5 million for the Governor's Office, $8.1 million for the DEQ, $7.1 million for DHHS and $6.9 million for the AG.

Here are the 10 most-expensive-to-defend state officials so far.

Former Gov. Rick Snyder

Former Gov. Rick Snyder gets a round of applause after signing the Fiscal Year 2018 Michigan State Budget at the Kent Career Technical Center in Grand Rapids on Friday, July 14, 2017. (Mike Clark | MLive.com)

Former Gov. Rick Snyder

Payments to law firms representing the Governor's Office, which has had attorneys working on Flint water since 2016, total $8.5 million. The records don't indicate who in addition to former Gov. Rick Snyder has been represented by attorneys

Snyder was never charged with any crime related to the water crisis, but his office has been advised by multiple law firms, including Warner Norcross & Judd, which has several offices in Michigan and Detroit-based Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker.

Snyder appointed emergency managers who ran the city of Flint's business before and during the water crisis, including two executives who still face criminal charges -- Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose.

Those emergency managers and others before them made a series of spending decisions that allowed the city to use the Flint River as its water source in a cost-cutting move for 17 months in parts of 2014 and 2015.

During that time, levels of bacteria, total trihalomethanes and lead increased in the water supply and witnesses in preliminary criminal examinations have testified that the city's water plant was not equipped or staffed properly.

In his congressional testimony, Snyder has said he didn't learn state experts who told him Flint water was safe were mistaken until late 2015 and wasn't told of outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease until after the city's water source was changed back to pre-treated Lake Huron water.

Nick Lyon, former DHHS director

Nick Lyon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, listens closely as Genesee District Judge David J. Goggins gives his decision during Lyon's preliminary examination on Monday, Aug. 20, 2018 at Genesee District Court inin Flint, Mich. Goggins ordered Lyons to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in two deaths linked to Legionnaires' disease in the Flint area, the highest ranking official to stand trial as a result of the tainted water scandal. Jake May | The Flint Journal

Nick Lyon, former DHHS director

Nick Lyon, who served as a cabinet member and director of DHHS for Snyder, has racked up $1.8 million in attorney bills with three separate law firms.

Lyon faces charges including two counts of involuntary manslaughter in Genesee Circuit Court -- charges related to his handling of outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County while the city used the Flint River as its water source.

At least a dozen deaths have been attributed to the outbreaks but researchers have not been able to prove the connection between Flint water and the spread of the disease.

Lyon and others at DHHS were aware of the surge in Legionnaires' cases and the possible connection to Flint water months before notifying the public.

Flint District Court Judge David Goggins bound Lyon over for a jury trial more than a year after he was first arraigned -- a decision his attorneys are appealing.

Arguments on their motion to quash Goggins' decision are scheduled to be heard Feb. 1.

Lyon is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, misconduct in office and neglect of duty. Three law firms have received payments for work on his defense.

Willey & Chamberlain LLP has received the bulk of the payments for Lyon's criminal defense -- more than $1.7 million.

Stephen Busch, DEQ district supervisor

Stephen Busch, a DEQ district supervisor, pleads no contest to disturbing the peace in a public building in Genesee District Court on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018 in Flint. Kaiti Sullivan | MLive.com

Stephen Busch, DEQ district supervisor

Stephen Busch, a district supervisor for the state DEQ, pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor charge related to the water crisis last month.

But his attorney bills for defending him against criminal and civil charges is more than $1.7 million.

The DEQ reports it paid Kotz Sangster $1.3 million for its work on civil issues related to Busch and $405,629 to LaRene & Kriger of Detroit for providing his criminal defense.

Busch pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace in a public building, a misdemeanor that District Judge Jennifer Manley could dismiss later this year.

The plea was part of a deal negotiated by his attorneys and special prosecutor Todd Flood.

An environmental supervisor, Busch was initially charged with several crimes related to the water crisis, and faced the threat of an involuntary manslaughter charge.

"The reason (for the plea agreement) is because of the cooperation and substantial assistance Mr. Busch has given to move the ball down the field in the (overall) Flint water investigation," Flood said last month.

Former DEQ Director Dan Wyant has not been charged with any crime related to the water crisis, but the department he led was at the forefront of the state's response to it.

Attorneys have billed the state a total of more than $1.3 million to defend Wyant. Nearly $1 million was to represent him against civil litigation related to the water crisis, records show.

The Clark Hill law firm has represented Wyant's interests in civil and criminal matters, according to an accounting of the spending by the DEQ.

Snyder accepted Wyant's resignation in December 2015 after a task force appointed by the governor laid responsibility for Flint's water problems at the feet of his department.

The governor said in a statement at the time that it was "appropriate to accept" the resignation and committed to "making other personnel changes at MDEQ to address problems cited by the task force."

While still director, Wyant acknowledged mistakes in oversight by the DEQ in Flint and said officials in his office were confused about how to carry out federal regulations that would have made city water less corrosive.